Adjustable work supporting member



Jan. 13, 1953 L. T. COOKSON ADJUSTABLE WORK SUPPORTING MEMBER 2SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Oct. 17, 1945 LEONARD T.

BY ATTORNEY L. T. cooKsoN ADJUSTABLE WORK SUPPORTING MEMBER Jan. 13,1953 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 17, 1945 w B 0 0 S Y M "J 4 n a Km u mO R f I m XA\ Cm /A 8 0w. 9 W v A n 3 fiU W /7 v n m a \m m 3 Q 7 y a aI Q E 7 4 a |\A 9 s ffllx: p, 4 4: HI 87w !U z 4 z w. 9 0 54a 9 L 4 a Vq 6 k E .7 2 Q E 3 9 2 c a. u .2 Ma a a 9 I. 1 6 3 6 5 2 6 Patented Jan.13, 1953 I 2,625,099 ADJUSTABLE WORK SUPPORTING MEMBER Leonard T.Cooksom, Kalamaz00,,Mich., assignor to lThe Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo,Mich a corpo a ion of Michi Application October 17, 1945, Serial No.622,745

2 Claims.

This invention is concerned with an. improved device for transferringprinted matter directly upon rounded or cylindrical glass objects, suchas a pharmaceutical ampoule and particularly to adjustable means thereinfor holding said objects.

A principal object of this invention is to pro.- vide a device for thedirect printing of small cylindrical articles such as glass ampoules fortherapeutic use, which device includes an improved means for holdingsuch articles in the desired degree of cooperation with, a printingroller, such means being manually adjustable to accommodate varioussizes thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means for evenlydistributing ink onto a pr nting o ler- A still further object ofthisinvention is to provide an improved means for inking a printing roller,whereby small ink applying rollers used interaxially to transfer inkfrom the ink spreading roller to the printing; roller, are maintained incooperation with the said adjoining rollers by a simplified and improvedmanually adjustable device.

In the accompanying drawing the reference n mb s refer to s milar pa tsin. the difierent views, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation.

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the. line I I of F gure Fig re 3 sa cro sectional view taken on. the line III-.III of Figure 1 Y Figure 4is an enlarged cross sectional detail view taken on the line Iv -IV ofFigure 1.

Figure 5 is a section on line V-V of' Figure 1 showing part of theplatform adjusting mechen i Figure 6 is a section, taken on. line.- VI-VI. of Figure 1 show other p a orm, adjust ng mechanism.

Figure 7 is a detail cross sectional view taken on the line VII VIIw inFigure 2..

Figure 8 is a section taken on. the line lZIII-I-VIII of Figure 1.

Figure 9 is a section taken on the line IX-IX of Figure 8. a The presentinvention, pertains especially to that class of printing presseswherein; an offset printing roller contacts a cylindrical lass Objectand transfers an inscription or other marking thereupon. Such a press isshown in. th various views of the accompanying drawings, wherein aseries of rollers are supported by side frame members, i is d s r e osai roll rs. and, is transmitt d through. suitable means. to; cyindrical glass object held by a novel adjustable support.

In an illustrative device wherein the present invention is applied, abase A supports a pair of side frame members B and C.

A pair of ink receiving rollers l and la and supporting shafts arejournalled in bearings 2 supported by blocks 3 which are suitablysupported by the side frame members so that the rollers are revolublebut do not reciprocate axially. An ink distributing roller 6 contactsthe receiving rollers l and la and acts to spread the ink smoothly ontothe next rollers. This distributing rollers is fitted with a mechanismfor the even spreading of ink thereon. In this mechanism, the shaft 1 ofthe roller 6 is journalled in bearings 8 and 9, so that one end l0 movesfreely axially and the other end I! is passed through the center of anotherwise solid wheel !2 which has a circumscribed transversely scoredchannel I3. A solid boss 14 supports a downwardly extending guide rollerl5 which fits into the scored portion l3 of the wheel. This rollerbeing-on a stationary mounting, remains a constant distance from theside frame C of the press. so that as. the wheel l2 rotates the guideroller [5 remains inthe scored track l3 and causes the wheel l2 and theshaft 1 to reciprocate; along'the axis of said shaft I. This motion istransmitted to the ink distributing; roller 6 and produces a rubbingeffect between the surfaces of it and the ink receiving rollers l andla. These combined movements of rotation and horizontal rubbing cause anevendistribution of ink between the two rollers and a minimum ofstreaking thereon. Any suitable means are provided so that the.distributing roller 8 will follow the horizontal action of the shaft 1without slippage.

A pair of ink applying rollers l9 and 19a move in cooperation with thedistributing roller 6v and a type carrying roller 20, and are fittedwith a manually controlled means so that the surfaces of the respectiverollers l9 and, I9a. are easily adjusted to the desired degree ofcooperation with the rollers 6 and 23. The ink applying rollers l9 and[9a are supported on. shafts which extend through suitable openings inthe side frame members B and C, and are journalled in bearings 2|mounted on the inner side of blocks 23. These blocks are grooved andfitted to slide on guides 24a. of the holder 24 as shown in detail inFigures 1 and 3. A thumb screw 26 held by the crossbar l1, threaded intoa collar on the side of said cross-bar and bearing against the saidblock 23, is provided for the purpose of; manual adjustment of saidblock and by it moves the ink applying roller l9 along the guides 24a ofthe holder 24. It acts against a force imparted to the block 23 by aspring 21 supported by the holder 24. Thus this roller supporting blockis movable along a line which passes through the geometrical centers ofboth the ink applying roller l9 and the distributing roller 6 and can bemanually adjusted along that line to the desired degree of cooperationwith the distributing roller 6.

Adjustment to place the ink applying roller IS in the desirablrelationship with the type carrying roller is provided by a screw actingon the side of the holder 26 (Figures 8 and 9). Movement of this screwwill cause the holder 24 to move laterally and thus cause it to followan arcuate path about the axis of the roller 6. This screw is threadedthrough a support 3! immovably mounted on a wing shaped arm 32 which is,in turn, supported by and parallel to the side frame member B in anyconvenient manner as by studs of which-one is indicated at 33. It actsagainst a tension exerted upon the holder 24 by a spring 34 connected tothe tip of the arm 32 by a hook end and to the outwardly extending endof the holder 2 1 by a loop connection 36 fitted onto a stud bolt 3!(Figure 9). After first being adjusted along a line comprising anextended radius of roller 6 to bring the roller l9 into cooperation withthe ink distributing roller 6, lateral adjustment may be made and the.ink applying roller 19 moved arouately around the axis of roller 6 andthus brought into any desired cooperation with the type roller 26.justing the roller lSa. Further similar means are provided forsupporting and adjusting the other ends of both ink applying rollers.

Thus, it can readily be seen that fine adjustments of thes ink applyingrollers can be made easily by a mechanism which is of convenientconstruction, is readily available to the operator, has few movableparts and requires a minimum of maintenance.

Ink is transferred directly from the type roller 20 to the offsetprinting roller 39, both of which are journalled in conventional rollerbearings 40 and Al mounted on respectively adjacent parts of the sideframe members B and C. The olfset roller 39 is mounted on cantilevers 9iand 92, and may be provided with a standard inch adjustment along aplane passing through the respective axes of said oiiset roller 39 andthe type roller 20 by conventional means not shown) The ofi'set rolleris driven by any conventional positiv means, as a train of gears ofwhich one is partially shown at 83.

A motor 42 provides a convenient source of rotary power and is connectedto the type roller 20 through any suitable means which may include achain 45 and sprocket 9:3. This drives the shaft mounting the roller 2tand through it the gears 46, 41 and 48. These are connected to theseveral rollers by direct screw connections shown at two points 59 andand impart desired rotation to all rollers.

The oifset roller 39 is fitted with a conventional applicator 5 I, thesurface of which is raised somewhat above the surface of the roller. Oneinscription is printed on each revolution of the roller, the ampoule orsimilar object being replaced each time by hand. This applicator E3! isremovable for repair or replacement. When the printing applicator 5| ofthe offset roller 39 is directed downwardly it comes into contact withSimilar means are provided for likewise ad- 4 and prints directly uponthe cylindrical glass object to be printed, such as an ampoule 52.

This ampoule, or similar object, is held longitudinally between twopairs of rollers 53 and 53a (Figure l) at one end and and 65a (Figure 7)at the other end, which are constructed of a suitable resilientmaterial, such as hard rubber, which will compress under th pressure ofthe printing roller sufiiciently to protect the glass object frombreakage, yet which is sufficiently firm to hold the glass objectwithout slipping. The two rollers 53 and 53a are separately journalledin suitable bearings mounted on the housing 55, which is immovablysupported by a platform 58 by any convenient means, as the bolt and nutassembly 86 (Figure 2). The two rollers 65 and 65a are constructedsimilarly to the rollers 53 and 53a and are rotatably mounted in amovable support 54. This support (Figure 7) has a base part 66 and siderecesses 6'! and 6B. The base 65 is received in a groove 59 and heldtherein for sliding across the platform 56 by the guides it and Hsupported on spacers l2 and 13.

To provid for variations in the length of the ampoules, or similarobjects being printed, the movable sets of rollers 65 and 65a may bemoved axially toward or away from the corresponding axially immovablerollers 53 and 53a. A hand wheel 52 (Figure 2) directly operates a screwshaft 63 which extends through an internally threaded opening 64 of thesupport 54 and efiects movement of this support horizontally. This shaftis supported at its one end by a bearing 82 in the support 55 and at itsother end by the bearing 83 in the block 84 which is supported by theplatform 58 and held in position with respect thereto by the bolt andnut assembly 85.

A part 74 (Figure 6) of this platformextending through an opening 11 ina front guide plate '18 has an internally threaded opening 15 whichreceives therein a correspondingly threaded shaft 58. This is turned bya hand crank 59 (Figures 1 and 5) operating through the bevel gears 69and 1B. As the screw shaft 58 revolves, the platform 55 is raised orlowered to accommodate the desired size of ampoule and this movement issuitably guided by the guides 19 and 86 (Figure 6) acting against thevertical slide at thereof. The range of the apparatus here specificallyshown extends from the illustrative ampoule 52 shown to the smallest asshown in dotted lines 61. The rollers 53, 53a, 65 and 65a will bereplaced by others of size appropriate to the platform height and thesize of ampoul being handled. Further variation in ampoule size ispermitted by only moderate change in the size and/or shape of the rollersupporting parts.

In operation the motor 22 acting through the above described chain andgears rotates the various rollers by which ink applied to each of theink receiving rollers l and la is ultimately spread in'a smooth and evencoating onto the ink applying rollers l9 and Wet. The type roller 20 isinked by contact with said inking roller 19 and in the known manner ofoffset printing transfers the impression onto the applicator 5| of theoffset roller 39.

By suitably selecting the ampoule supporting rollers of a sizeappropriate to the ampoule which is to be printed and rotating the handcrank 59 and/or the hand wheel 62, the ampoule carrying rollers areadjusted in such a manner that the ampoule will be contacted by theoffset roller 39 with the proper printing pressure but itwlll be clearedby all other parts of said offset roller. Since the ampoule supportingrollers are open for free access thereto from three sides it will beeasy for an operator to remove each ampoule as it is printed and place anew one in position for printin with each rotation of the offset roller.When it is desired to print an ampoule of a different size, adjustmentfor same may quickly be made. If an ampoule of different diameter is tobe used the crank 59 is operated to raise or lower the platform 56 andthereby the supporting rollers. To adjust the supports for variations inlength of the ampoule it will be equally easy to rotate the hand wheel62 to move the support 54 and the rollers carried thereby toward or awayfrom the fixed sup-port 55 and the rollers 53 and 53a carried thereon.It will be necessary to change the rollers themselves and theirsupporting blocks only when extremely wide variations in ampoule sizeare to be made, and even then the change can be made quite readily. Forchanging the movable support 54 it is necessary only to loosen the boltand nut assembly 85, withdraw the threaded screw shaft 63 and withdrawthe said support. The immovable cradle 55 may be removed for replacementby one of a different size merely by removing the nut from the nut andbolt assembly 86 and withdrawing the support 55 as soon as the screwshaft 63 is removed therefrom. Because of the free access available tothese rollers and the roller supports this will be a relatively easyoperation.

Accordingly, I have disclosed and described an ampoule printing machinewhich is sufficiently like prior known printing devices of its generaltype that workers familiar with the formerly known kinds will have nodifficulty in operating my improved printer and one in which there isprovided great flexibility in its adjustment for receiving ampoules ofdifferent sizes. Thus, the machine can be freely used to print ampoulesof many different sizes within only a short period of time and at lowerexpense even though only a few of each size are involved.

Various modifications of my printer will be apparent to those acquaintedwith equipment of this type but all of such modifications will beincluded within the scope of my hereinafter appended claims, exceptingas such claims by their own terms expressly provided otherwise.

I claim:

1. In a machine for printing on cylindrical articles, such as an ampoulefor therapeutic use, adjustable means holding said cylindrical articlein print receiving position under a printing roll, the improvementcomprising: a vertically guided platform having a threaded openingtherein; a selectively rotatable threaded member within said threadedopening whereby rotation of said member will move said platformvertically in a selected direction; fixed means on said paltformsupporting a pair of spaced rollers whose axes are parallel with andequidistant from the axis of said printing roll; an elongated groove insaid platform aligned parallel with the axis of said printing roll; athreaded shaft spaced from and parallel with said groove; movable meansreceived within said groove and having a threaded opening thereinreceiving said shaft; a pair of spaced rollers mounted upon said movablemeans, the axes of said rollers being parallel with and equidistant fromthe axis of said printing roll; means operable for manual rotation ofsaid shaft, whereby rotation of said shaft will move said movable meanslongitudinally within said groove toward and away from said fixed means.

2. In a machine for printing on cylindrical articles, the improvement inmeans for adjustably and rotatably supporting a wide variety of sizes ofsaid articles in print receiving position beneath a printing rollcomprising: a frame; a substantially horizontal platform and meansvertically, slidably, mounting said platform upon said frame and havinga threaded openin therethrough; a vertical threaded member rotatablysupported upon said frame and operably engaged with said threadedopening means for effecting rotation of said member, whereby saidplatform is raised and lowered; a fixed support secured upon saidplatform and a first .pair of spaced rollers rotatably supported uponsaid support the axes of said rollers being parallel with, andsubstantially equidistant from, the axis of said printing roll; amovable support slidably mounted upon said platform and a second pair ofspaced rollers rotatably supported upon said movable support, the axesof said second rollers being parallel with, and substantiallyequidistant from, the axis of said printing roll; guide means on saidplatform restricting movement of said movable support to movement towardand away from said fixed support and in a direction parallel with theaxis of said printing roll; and manually operable screw means forefiecting said movement of said movable support.

LEONARD T. COOKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

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